SSU notches 1st MEAC win, beating N.C. Central, 33-30

Bob Sutton

Saturday

Sep 24, 2011 at 10:08 PM

DURHAM, N.C. — Savannah State could take a liking to its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football surroundings.

Playing in their first official game in their new conference, the Tigers scored the first two touchdowns of the second half and held on to beat North Carolina Central, 33-30, as the newest members of the MEAC met in their conference debuts Saturday night at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium.

“They’ll be able to tell their families they won the first MEAC Savannah State game,” said first-year coach Steve Davenport, who collected his first head coaching victory. “We kind of focused on this game long ago.”

The Tigers (1-3) were potentially in trouble until Byron Leggett — who converted to cornerback during the week — returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown with 45 seconds left to establish a 33-22 advantage. That was followed by Geovonie Irvine’s 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to close the gap, and the Eagles tacked on a two-point conversion.

Leggett recovered the ensuing onside kick to clinch it.

“It is historical and I was part of it,” Leggett said.

Leggett and John Wilson, who made a team-high 12 tackles, were busy cornerbacks.

“Coaches put me in the right places,” Leggett said. “I saw (the ball on the interception — and I made a play. I had in my mind I was going to get in the end zone.”

Quarterback Antonio Bostick, making his first start of the season, ran for two touchdowns and threw for another for the Tigers.

“We’re first in the conference now,” Bostick said. “We’re looking to go 2-0 and go from there.”

Sophomore Brian Lackey had a 99-yard touchdown reception from Bostick. Lackey caught the ball about 25 yards from scrimmage and broke free from defenders the rest of the way. The Tigers had the lead for keeps.

“I caught my balance and all I saw was a touchdown,” Lackey said. “I didn’t even know it was 99 yards. All I see was catch the ball, first down, get the lead.”

The scoring sequence counted as a 98-yard drive because Lackey’s big play followed an illegal procedure penalty that pushed the ball back one yard after an N.C. Central punt.

“I was able to side-step (the rush) and let the ball go,” Bostick said.

Bostick, a sophomore, drew the call at quarterback for the Tigers in place of injured senior A.J. DeFilippis.

“He played well in some spots,” Davenport said. “He got poised at times when we needed him to get poised.”

Bostick scored on a third-down rollout from 5 yards out as the Tigers pushed their edge to 27-15 with 10 minutes to play.

Savannah State’s defense halted an N.C. Central drive at the 7-yard line with 6½ minutes left. But the Eagles regained possession and scored on Demario Lackey’s 16-yard pass from Michael Johnson with 2:42 remaining, reducing their deficit to 27-22.

That set up the frantic sequences in the final minutes.

“We found a way to make this thing interesting,” Davenport said.

Earlier, the Tigers tried something new, taking the opening kickoff on a 55-yard scoring drive capped by Bostick’s 7-yard quarterback draw. It was the Tigers’ first first-half touchdown of the season.

SSU pulled a trick play in the second quarter with punter Derek Williams’ 26-yard pass to Leggett, who made a diving catch. Two plays later, Justin Babb ran for a 7-yard touchdown.

The Eagles (1-3) nearly pulled even with 4:38 left in the first half on Johnson’s 18-yard pass to Irvine. But the extra-point kick hit the left upright, leaving the Tigers with a 13-12 lead.

The Tigers appeared to dodge a first-quarter threat when N.C. Central missed a 28-yard field goal. But an offside infraction moved the ball to the 6-yard line, and the Eagles changed plans. They converted the fourth-down play for a touchdown when receiver Jonathan Nicely appeared to grab the ball off the back of Leggett.

N.C. Central lost a home game for the second week in a row.

A pregame incident involved SSU players running through the N.C. Central band. That caused an altercation with pushing and shoving before order was restored.